Grave-annunciator



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. H. WHITE...

GRAVE ANNUNGIATOR.

N0.455,446. Patented July 7,1891.

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w. H. WHITE, GRAVE ANNUNOIATOR.

. Witnesses:

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. WHITE, OF TOPEKA, KANSAS.

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SPEOIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 455,446, dated July *7,1891.

Application filed May 22, 1890 ments in that class of alarms that areadapted for use in connection with graves or vaults for the purpose ofindicating the movement of the body contained therein, and thus to giveinformation that life still exists; and for this purpose it consists ofa vertical flue connected with the coflin and having a contact-maker foran electrical circuit contained therein, the said contact-maker beingactuated by a move-j meut of the body to which it is connected, the

said flue projecting above the surface of the ground and containing avalve which is opened by the movement of the said contactmaker, the saidflue being separable above the said valve for the purpose of removingits upper section, when desired, without permitting the escape of thegases generated in the coffin, and it also consists in the construction,arrangement, and combination of the parts of which it is composed, aswill be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

I in which corresponding parts are designated upper end of the apertureT in the lid and by corresponding letters, Figure 1 is a section of myinvention, showing it attached to a buried coffin. Fig. 2 is a detailvertical section of a part of the flue thereof, taken on line g 3 ofFig. 3. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on line :0 x of Fig. 2.Fig. 4 is a side view of the cap for the lower section of the'flue.

Tothe uppersurface of the lid of the coffin A (preferably near the headthereof) is secured the threaded collar T, surrounding the the lower endof the lower section B of the flue, which is screwed therein, thuspermitting it to be placed in position after the coffin has been loweredinto the grave, before which time the aperture T may be closed in anysuitable manner. l

Within the section B is secured the bracket X, the arms 3 y of whichform the bearings carried above the contact-disk.

Serial No. 352, 8 13. (No model.)

is connected with the body within the coffin by means of the wire 0, theconnection by preference'beingmade with a ring 0 upon the finger of thebody. The contact-disk I is mounted upon the rod D, between the arms y'y of the bracket, while an insulating-disk H is similarly Thecoilspring Z is contained between the lower surface of the contact-diskand the upper surface of the lower arm y of the bracket, the tendency ofthe said spring being to raise the said disk, and thus raise the rod.The spring contactplate Gis mounted upon the insulating-base P, carriedby the lower arm y of the bracket and is connected to the wire F, whilethe contact-disk is connected through the rod D, bracket-arms y, andsection B of the flue (the said parts being metallic) with the ground.Within the lower section B and above the bracket X' therein is thediaphragm V, of india-rubber, in which the opening of the valve E iseccentrically placed, the rod D and the wireF passing through thediaphragm, the

former also passing through apacking-ring V, placed below thediaphragmV, for the purpose of rendering the joint between the diaphragm V andthe rod D gas-tight, in order to prevent the upward escape of the gasesgenerated in the coflin. The valve E is supported in the diaphragm bymeans of the 0ppositely-placed pivots O O and normally lies in ahorizontal plane, thus closing the valveopening, but is connected at oneof its sides to the rod D by the wire J.

Upon the section B is screwed the upper section B, which projects abovethe surface of the ground and has its upper end closed by a suitable capB to prevent the entrance of rain, snow, 850., while the perforationsbin section B afford ventilation therefor. The wire F is insulated byany suitable means, and is carried to a central station, where it isgrounded through any suitable form of annunciator H i The operation ofmy invention is obvious, but it may be'here stated as follows: Thatportion of the body within the coflin to which the wire 0 is attachedhaving moved downward, the rod D will be drawn in a correspond ingdirection, causing the contact disk I thereon to make contact with theplate G, thus closing the circuit and giving the proper signal at theannunciator. If the downward motion of the body he still furthercontinued, the insulating-disk H, which, as will be noticed, is largerthan the disk I, will strike the plate G and shove it backward, theupper end of the plate being thrown backward to assist in this result,thus breaking the contact between the disk I and the plate G, thussaving the batteryfrom wear, and at the same time the valve E will betilted on its pivots O, permitting the entrance to the coffin of air tosupport life until the body may be disinterred, and the teeth Z upon thespringplate L, contained within the lower section, will, by engaging therod D, hold it down, and will thus retain the valve E in an openposition, the several parts having the relative position shown in dottedlines in Fig. 2. If no signal is made by the annunciator within a propertime, the upper section B may be unscrewed from the lowersection B,'andhaving been removed the wire F maybe clipped and the cap X may bedropped into position in the upper end of the lower section B,preventing the entrance of dirt, &c.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. The combination,with a coffin,of a flue composed of two separable sections, the oneabove the other, the lower of the said sections communicating with thecoflin, a contact-maker, and a diaphragm within the said lower section,a valve within the said diaphragm mechanically connected with the saidcontact-maker, a wire passing upward from the said contact-maker andthrough the said diaphragm and upper section of the flue, and anannunciator connected with the said wire, as described.

2. The combination, with a coffin having an aperture in the lid thereof,of a flue consisting of two separable sections, the one above the other,the lower section communicating with the said coffin through the saidaperture, a sliding rod within the said lower the said contact-plate, avalve within the said diaphragm and connected with the said sliding rod,a wire connected with the said contact-plate and passing through thesaid diaphragm, and an annunciator connected therewith, as described.

3. The combination, with a coffin having an aperture in thelid thereof,of a threaded collar surrounding the said aperture, a flue composed oftwo separable sections, the lower section of which is screwed in thesaid collar, a sliding rod within the said lower section, a contact-diskand an insulating-disk carried thereby, the said insulating-disk beingof greater size than the contact-disk, the said contact-disk beingelectrically connected with the ground, a bracket having upper and lowerguide-arms thereon within the said lower section, a spring containedbetween the said lower arm and the said contact-disk, a spring toothedplate within the said lower section, a contact-plate carried by the saidlower arm, but insulated therefrom, a diaphragm within the said lowersection. above the said contactplate, a valve within the said diaphragmmechanically connected with the said sliding rod, a wire connected withthe said contactplate and passing through the said diaphragm and uppersection of the flue, and an annunciator connected with the said wire, asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. WHITE.

Witnesses:

WM. 0. KNOX, J. D. SALMONS.

